The Human Rights standard practice for the police outlines the way they must conduct themselves as far as the treatment of suspects awaiting trial is concerned.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) is therefore disturbed at video that emerged this morning where an overzealous police officer is flogging UPND Deputy Secretary General for Politics, Patrick Mucheleka as he and his co-accused Elias Mubanga and Samuel Ngwira appeared at Kasama Magistrates Court for trial.
The UPND has also noted with regret how overzealous police officers have taken to the habitual mistreatment of suspects and their sympathizers each time those appearing at court even when such trials were in open court.
To treat Mucheleka like a common criminal by handcuffing him to Mr Mubanga is the gravest of inhuman treatment that can be accorded to a political leader of his calibre.
As a party that is a member of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) which provides for strict adherence to international rules and standards for policing and the Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Suspects, we expected the police to handle Mr Mucheleka and his co-accused with professionalism.
Therefore, as a suspect, the police should have desisted from any harsh, cruel and degrading treatment, the reason we have been calling for the thorough retraining of law enforcement officers so that the police can be held accountable to Zambians for the gross human rights violations they continue to commit.
PF cadres involved in criminal cases have been handled with so much compassion despite the gravity of the cases involved.
Mucheleka deserves this kind of treatment in fact let it be harsher than it is. HH TAKATEKEPOOOOOOOOO
The problem is that both ruling party and opposition only notices the overzealous police officers’ habitual mistreatment of suspects when one of theirs is behind bars. Prisoners are mistreated everyday and no one complains on their behalf. Politicians are there to solve problems in the country not their problems in the country.
What special treatment? Let him be treated like any other ordinary prisoner.
The UPND has also noted with regret how overzealous police officers have taken to the habitual mistreatment of suspects and their sympathizers each time those appearing at court even when such trials were in open court.
HAVE ALSO NOTED THAT , MAYBE ITS DUE TO THE FACT THAT MOST POLITICAL CASES HAVE ENDED IN NOLLES, SO THE ONLY OPTION THEY HAVE IS TO MISTREAT THEIR POLITICAL OPPONENTS BY DELAYING JUSTICE.
Nothing special about that criminal. Let him, just like any accused zambian, be treated as such. Those pictures do not show a man in distress. Rather he appears to be campaigning. Let me whip him and he will know what whipping is
What amounts to criminality kanshi? Somebody fires gun shorts in an attempt to steal or scare away NRC Issuance Officers in a broad day light in a rural area, what do you call that? If someone enters a bank and fires gun shorts with the Intent of stealing, what do you call that? You
say he should not be treated like a criminal then how should he be treated? Tribal party, serve that Bemba man eh!
Mucheleka looks better in pictures than in videos. In video you can easily see he lost so much weight, he may not make it for another month, he is dying.
It is is always a master, today people may be ridiculing those being mistreated but time will catch up with you. It is very wrong to mistreat anyone regardless of their political affiliation and the police need to rise above such behaviour. The police must never to the political gallery at any given time because they risk ruining the police profession. Today with so much media, every deed is on record and it will not surprise when these police officers start getting sued for their lack of professionalism at the hands of suspects.
Time is ticking every minute and running fast PF shall regret that they never did what they are doing. Today is yours and tomorrow you will never be their.
I wish my friend of many years, Patrick, well. He seems to have taken politics to a different level. He meets you in a shopping mall, he simply wants to talk politics and nothing else. When he talks, he does so loudly attracting onlookers. He sounds more like a man with a bone to chew with somebody. You tell him to calm down and take things easy, it is like you are making him talk even more and louder. The gentleman needs to take things soberly and think more about his life and that of his family. Not the way he has gone to even disparage the Chitimukulu who he defended all along when Mr. Sata was President.
Why do zambia police transport suspects in open bakkie.The goverment must buy decent utilities vehicles.Otherwise it seems we are still in backwards in terms of leadership qualities.
The problem we have is that politicians like to posture themselves as special people. Patrick Mucheleka is old enough to understand how politics have destroyed people in Africa. I’d like to remind him and others about UNIP’s Zero Option saga. The mother Party UNIP didn’t treat its members that were arrested in equally. Sooner the late Captain Selemani Mphangula Banda learnt that lesson because he could see that his co-accused like HRH Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta ( May God continue to bless him) still wielded his royalty even in prison and his subjects quickly organized lawyers. He never ate prison food while Selemani languished without any visitors. Don’t try to be a hero for nothing. Mucheleka is the person that insults Mwine Lubemba at every opportunity yet he claims to be from the…
Mucheleka claims to be from the royal family yet he insults Mwine Lubemba at every opportunity, isn’t that in conflict with any logic? Ubufumu buchindika abene. This advice applies to those that are in power now. These same police officers you call chaps now will deal with you one day. So be sober in all your decisions so that you don’t accord them an opportunity to treat you like Mucheleka. What Mucheleka did as reported in the can’t be done by any senior politician. Comrades please let’s moderate our actions, these are just politics
This country is lead by mafias, thugs. You surprise every opposing voice and you think that is normal as long as it favors you. Our tears of pain will turn into tears of joy one day. What crime did Mucheleka and others commit apart from standing against injustices the Unpatriotic front party is committing. Remember every dog has his day you can oppress people today there is no situation that is permanent. We know Lunga and the team you are so much drunk with power but one day you will sober up to see things as they are. Otherwise, to all Zambians feeling the pain of injustices, its darkest just before dawn so let us not give up.
Mucheleka was arrested on criminal and not political charges. So for now until proven guilty he is to be treated as a criminal suspect and not a political one. It doesn’t matter how high he is in his patty… infact one would expect that the higher you are in any organization the more responsible you must be. One who is a leader in an organization that represents the people must respect their offices and desist from commiting possible criminal offences… but if they represent criminals then they have themselves to blame for the treatment they get from the police
Kano nga Ilya nabo
A criminal is a criminal whether he is a politician or not. Destroying NRC issuing equipment at will is a criminal offence which Mucheleka did. Let him prove himself innocent in the court of law. However for now he has to suffer just like any other criminal period.
I do not see anything wrong with handcuffing a criminal. What UPND cadres should know in that when the sh!t hits the fan, HH is nowhere to be seen. How many UPND cadres are in prison now for criminal offences while HH is in new Kasama.
Greed and corruption has befallen our land
“Somebody fires gun shorts in an attempt to steal or scare away NRC Issuance Officers in a broad day light in a rural area, what do you call that?”
So,is this what this criminal did. This is absolute criminal. And please, don’t take criminality to Northern, Luapula and NWestern provinces. These provinces are very quiet. They mind their own businesses. Do not introduce dundumwezi in these provinces. Mucheleka is just like any other criminal- nensoni takwata.
HH alesasula inama ku New Kasama. Politics te yabana!!
Have they been convicted already? How come they are being treated as though they have been proven guilty of the alleged crimes? Others are treated guilty until proven innocent? Animal farm.
Kaizer for president. Pa bwatooo! Or Vice President pa bwatooo!
A suspected criminal is a potential danger to society. Police should treat all suspected criminals equally whether politicians or not. There is nothing like common criminal – where fire arms are discharged in public is dangerous because stray bullets have been known to have killed innocent souls. UPND should just mobilise powerful lawyers to help their colleagues out.